Blade Runner tops sci-fi movie poll

Blade Runner has clinched the top spot in a poll on the greatest sci-fi film of all time.

The 1982 cult classic, directed by Ridley Scott and based on a novel by Philip K Dick, won the top plaudit in a poll run by Totalscifionline.com. Blade Runner flopped commercially on its initial release and received only lukewarm reviews, but has grown in reputation over the intervening years.

Its dystopian vision of the near future, strong philosophical themes on the moral implications of genetic engineering, a seminal score by Vangelis and strong performances by Rutger Hauer (in particular) and others have all added to the film's appeal. Numerous re-cuts and reissues of the film over the years have, if nothing else, kept it on the shelves on video rental stores and (more recently) in Amazon's bestseller lists.

Blade Runner secured more votes than other sci-fi classics including 2001 and Star Wars.

Perhaps surprisingly, older films - such as Metropolis from 1929 - made it onto the list, suggesting impressive special effects are not needed to capture the longer term affection of moviegoers.

Pleasingly, Michael Bay's Transformer flicks appear nowhere on the list. Overlooked classics that fail to make the top 10 include Silent Running and Terminator 2. ®